Tag Archive for cholesterol

July 8, 2014 /
Debbie / Comments Off on Who Can Start A Ketogenic Diet? Will It Raise Cholesterol? How I’ve Adapted. A Recipe.

I’ve had two good questions this week. One, from a new client, “Can I start the Ketogenic Diet ASAP, because I need to lose a lot of weight.”, and Two, from a reader, ” I have high cholesterol, so this diet can’t be good for me, right?”

Let me answer both of these questions.

“Can I start the Ketogenic Diet ASAP, because I need to lose a lot of weight.” No, I don’t want anyone I’m working with to jump into a Ketogenic Diet without (1) knowing exactly what it means, and (2) getting a really good handle on organizing/planning/shopping/cooking/and packing; and (3) eliminating snacking.

It’s hard enough to just eat well without giving in to cravings and triggers and habits. Eating a Ketogenic Diet is really particular, and it requires Practice at Discipline. It also needs to be implemented after we’ve wrapped our heads around the health benefits and the how-to’s, because honestly, weight loss is never enough reason to stick to any food or diet plan forever. That’s why almost 100% of everyone who loses weight gains it back. Any motivation to stick to a diet plan just to lose weight is a very temporary feeling.

I want my clients to experience success and actual brain-change, for example:

The longer I immerse myself in the science of what happens to my body in response to certain foods, the easier it is to eat only foods that are good for me. I look at cheetos, frozen waffles, and processed foods as Cancer Fertilizer, and they scare me. Gluten scares me!

I don’t snack anymore, neither does Mark. We know that we need those hours between meals for the right HORMONES to happen so that our bodies can actually burn fat instead of glucose. That fact is a fore-thought, not an after thought; because of that, the snack voice rarely calls to us anymore.

I’ve become so good at remembering how I feel after a binge, that I NEVER binge anymore. It’s NORMAL for me now to do what it takes to feel good, clear headed, positive, energetic, and lean. It took a while for me to reach this point, but I’m there. You can be too!

My goal for my clients: (1) to become great planners and organizers; to take control of their life/eating/habits without stress (2) for “long-term-consequence-thinking” to become their norm.

Seat-of-pants-spontaneous-eating…..doesn’t work for anyone. Unfortunately, spontaneous eating is more normal than not.

I set my clients up for Success by taking it one step at a time. We focus on saturating the mind with information that rewires the bad habits. It’s a one step at a time approach, because really, that’s all the brain will allow. Brains don’t like change. Almost 100% of everyone who “diets” gains the weight back. Half of all those people gain back more than they lost. Just changing your food for a week or a month or even a few months isn’t a long term health and weight loss solution.

That said, weaning off the trigger foods ( they’re always grains and carbs), identifying trigger people/places/things, making a written plan, and practicing cooking and packing, are crucial. So is learning about habit change/habit breaking/ building new habits.

Next Question: Will a Ketogenic Diet Raise Cholesterol?

NO!Bad cholesterol rises in response to excess carbs, particularly sugars and grains. When the blood sugar gets above “normal”, which is 100mg/dl, much of the excess is remade into fat ( triglycerides). The liver has to make Small, Dense, LDL ( the BAD cholesterol) to transport that new fat to it’s new home: the fat cells in your abdominal area.

Not all cholesterol is bad, much of it is good! Cholesterol is such a NECESSARY element in our body that God made Every Single One Of Our Cells capable of manufacturing it. The liver produces boatloads; and it produces even more if we’re sick, injured, or stressed, because cholesterol is a necessary component of the hormones and immune system that deals with those issues.

In a pan, I melted 6 tablespoons of Kerrygold butter and a 1/4 of water. I added meat from 2 big chicken breasts, 2 endives slices in half, a whole onion, a bunch of cauliflower, 2 yellow zucchini, a bunch of chives, and Salt and Pepper. Before I served it ( forgot to photo this), I added a bunch of feta cheese, and a tablespoon of butter to each bowl. Delicious!

Has anyone read The Big Fat Surprise, by Nina Teicholz? It’s getting a lot of press because it’s a great book! She goes through step by step details of how meat, full fat dairy, eggs, cholesterol, and saturated fats came to be demonized in America. What happened? Let’s just say it’s Big Phuvernment in full swing.

You all, we’ve been duped. Yep. There’s ZERO scientific research that CONCLUSIVELY links eating fat and cholesterol with heart disease, yet that connection is accepted as gospel. Study after study demonstrates no correlation between our level of blood cholesterol and any degree of atherosclerosis. Study after study shows no link between lowering our cholesterol through diet or drugs, and avoiding heart disease. We wouldn’t know this from talking to our doctor or watching TV commercials. It’s time to rethink how we make decisions about our own health.

Here’s a few lines on the results of a UCLA School of Medicine study which looked at 136,900 patients in 2009:

A nationwide study conducted by UCLA School of Medicine found that 75 percent of patients hospitalized for a heart attack had LDL cholesterol within the so called safe range – below 130 mg/dl. (21 percent of the patients were taking a statin cholesterol-lowering drug.) Even more astounding, 50 percent of patients had LDL less than 100 mg/dL – considered optimal levels! The mean LDL cholesterol among the hospitalized patients was 104.9 mg/dL.

Read that again! Seriously!

Study after study has shown that lowering cholesterol doesn’t make us live longer or better or have less heart disease. Actually, there are several studies showing that really low cholesterol is linked with more infections ( cholesterol is vital to our immune system), a lack of sex hormones ( all steroid hormones are derived from cholesterol), and associations with aggressive behavior and suicides. Low cholesterol can be bad for our health – ever heard your doctor say that?

If you’re looking for an interesting non-fiction read, this is it. It’s time that everyone discovers that (1) Fat’s not bad for us, and (2), fat is actually GOOD for us. Here’s a few of the many benefits of fats; read and consider how DECADES of low-fat advice has impacted our health:

Every singe cell in our entire body has a membrane that’s partially composed of saturated fats and cholesterol. They provide a support structure that allows nutrients in, trash out, and information to be passed cell to cell properly. That’s important.

Our brain matter is about 60% fat and cholesterol. ( If you haven’t read Grain Brain yet, you should! ) Fat has many functions up there; one of them is making memories. Our memories come from our synapses, and synapse formation is almost entirely dependent on cholesterol. Our brain’s own cells produce a lot of the cholesterol needed for this. Statin drugs, which shut down our own natural cholesterol production, are famous for interfering with memory.

What about LDL, surely that’s definitely bad, right? It depends. There’s several types of LDL; one type bind directly to dangerous bacterial toxins and inactivates them, preventing them from doing any damage in the body. We need that particular LDL! A diet rich in cholesterol has been demonstrated to improve recovery from acute or chronic infections, so the next time you get sick, focus on healthy fatty foods: eggs, liver, butter, and fatty broth.

There is an LDL that’s small, dense, and prone to damaging arteries, it’s called VLDL, and our body makes that in response to high amounts of carbohydrates in the diet. (Triglycerides, a fat that’s highly correlated with heart disease, also rises in response to high amounts of carbs.)

Maybe you believe that eating fat doesn’t cause heart attacks, but can you believe that eating fat doesn’t necessarily make you fat? Notice I say “necessarily”. A diet full of processed foods, crappy carbs, hydrogenated fats, old polyunsaturated fats left in a deep fryer for days, and a pile of chemicals that create smells, flavors, textures, and colors – just like real food – will make anyone fat as a tick. And sick too. ( This includes our children. )

A diet full of healthy animal fats, coconut oil, olive oil, butter, and cream, along with copious amounts of vegetables, good proteins, some fruit, some nuts and seeds, and some full fat dairy ( if you can tolerate that), will absolutely NOT make you fat. The opposite will happen, I promise! How? You’d be feeding your body what it needs to make new cells, repair cells, and function correctly. When your body has what it needs to build and repair, it runs smoothly. Your weight normalizes, you have energy, your immune system is strong, and you think better!

Bonus? Fat satiates. The food cravings that drive constant eating or binges? Gone on a high fat diet. That’s because a high carb, high crap diet leaves your brain searching for nutrients. You won’t be able to ignore the messages demanding that you eat now if you’re not feeding your body the nutrients it needs to be normal and healthy.

Confused, dubious, but hopeful that fat could actually be good for you? If you’re in the mood for a Big Read, buy The Big Fat Secret. If you need something quicker, easier to read, and much more direct about fat and cholesterol’s relationship to heart disease, and the dangerous side effects of statin drugs, buy Cholesterol Clarity. I recommend this to clients, family and friends all the time, it’s excellent.

Want to implement a high fat diet, but you’re not sure how? Get in touch with me. If you’ve been on a low fat/high carb bandwagon, you’re going to need help making the switch, mentally and physically ( in your kitchen ). If you’ve been struggling with your weight and your health, this is the answer you’ve been looking for, honest. Real Whole Food, with plenty fats. Honestly, try it for a month. See the difference it can make in your mood, your thinking, and your life – it’s profound.

March 12, 2014 /
Debbie / Comments Off on How To Lose Weight and Be Healthy? Feed Your Body What It Wants!

One of my main goals in life is to help people connect these dots: food, health, weight. If you read my blog, you know I’m not referring to calories, or fat grams. I’m referring to nutrients in food and chemical reactions that happen when our body uses those nutrients. When you care more about: what’s in your food, what it does to you, and how it makes you feel; than you care about calories, then I know you’re on track to be lean and healthy, forever.

What you fill your mind with is what’s going to rule your mind. For instance, if you’re swayed by any of these advertisements (make sure you check out the last one – it’s my favorite), you’re going to continue along hoping that if you can just starve yourself for a sufficient amount of time, you’ll end up skinny and happy. It doesn’t work that way. Look back over your own history: low cal dieting and tons of exercise are a VERY temporary way to take off pounds,always to the detriment of your Thyroid, Adrenals, Sex Hormones, Neurotransmitters, and Muscles. Do it with Low Fat products, high in carbs, and there goes Insulin and Blood Glucose levels also. Your body wants Nutrients to Run Correctly. That’s all it wants, honest. Eat to make your body as healthy as possible and your weight will become healthy and stable. That’s all it takes, really.

*To make hair, nails, cartilage, growth hormone, glutathione (our #1 antioxidant), insulin, prolactin, and a whole bunch of other parts of our body, we need to have plenty of Sulfur. Sulfur is the 3rd most common mineral in our body after calcium and phosphorus.

*Many studies show that garlic, onions, and other allicin (sulfur containing) foods are incredibly protective against cancer and heart disease.

*The National Cancer Institute found that individuals who ate the most allicin vegetables (red onions, scallions, garlic, chives and leeks) had a nearly 50% lower cancer risk than those who ate the least.

*Acetaminophen depletes sulfur levels in the body. Sulfur is used to both break down and escort out (via urine), acetaminophen. Breakdown happens in the liver. We have large stores of the antioxidant Glutathione in the liver, or we’re supposed to. Acetaminophen drains those supplies. Acetaminophen is the Number 1 Cause of Liver Failure in the U.S.

Real Whole Food is made from compounds that our body needs to run correctly. Here’s some more cool facts:

*Our body makes Vitamin D3 when the cholesterol from INSIDE of us, rises to the OUTSIDE of us/on top of our skin, and is “mixed/hit with” with UVB rays from the sun. Vitamin D SULFATE is made. Vitamin D sulfate is WATER SOLUBLE, so it sinks right back down through the skin, into the blood where it goes anywhere in the body that Vitamin D is supposed to go.

****Vitamin D3 supplements are UN-SULFERATED. That means NOT water soluble. ( Our blood is water, right?) The liver must make LDL to transport UN-sulferated Vitamin D3 through the blood.

*Both cholesterol and sulfur protect the skin from radiation damage, the kind of damage that can lead to skin cancer. Remember, cholesterol is an ANTIOXIDANT. That’s one of the reasons our liver makes so much of it.

*Here’s a great podcast with Senior MIT Researcher Stephanie Seneff on Statins, Cholesterol, and the “Real Demons” of heart disease.

If you want to get slim, healthy, and be loaded with energy, you need to learn how the body works and what food does to you. Invest in yourself, invest in your loved ones. Become a Real Whole Foodie.

I’ve had good questions and good meetings this week that centered on topics that apply to many people, so here goes a diverse post.

Two people asked me questions about Thyroid numbers on their tests. One person had a high TSH, the other a high T3. I only have INFORMATION for them to bring to their doctors, not a diagnosis, but it’s important information. Often when doctors see these numbers, they throw “typical” pharmaceuticals at it; but there’s a much bigger picture to these numbers. The thyroid doesn’t “stand alone”; nothing in our body works in isolation, everything works ( or doesn’t work), in tandem with the rest of our body. Modern medicine/pharmaceuticals treats problems in very isolated ways which explains why so often, health issues aren’t resolvedby band-aiding symptoms.

Thyroid Facts: the Pituitary gland makes TSH, the Thyroid gland does not. A low or high TSH is something the Pituitary is doing, not the thyroid. The pituitary is taking a measure of the level of T3 and T4 (the hormones the thyroid DOES make), and then sending out the TSH accordingly. Here’s the problems: the pituitary is looking at the amount of T3 and T4 in the blood. There’s so many reasons for a “mis-reading”: you don’t have enough Iodine in your diet ( that’s a common deficiency) to knock a T4 down to a T3; you don’t have enough selenium which keeps T4 low in the blood and reduces reverse T3 ( RT3). Maybe you don’t get enough zinc and copper – which have vital thyroid functions, or maybe you get these nutrients, but don’t absorb them well because your stomach acid is too low? How’s your Vitamin D status, studies show it’s EPIDEMICALLY low, and vitamin D has a HUGE role to play in thyroid function, and auto-immune thyroid disease (Hashimoto’s). What if you don’t have the enzymes that help knock that 4th T (tyrosine – which is an animo-acid from protein – do you get enough protein?), down to T3, which is the thyroid hormone that actually is USED by our cells, unlike T4, which is basically just a pre-cursor to T3. What if everything works up to the point of your cells using the T3, but most of your T3 is bound by “globulins” – which makes it Reverse T3 (RT3) and UNUSABLE.

Are you getting my point? There’s many reasons for your “off” thyroid numbers, and throwing the typical meds (synthroid or armor) at it may not even come close to solving your problem.

Oh! Stress/Cortisol has HORRIBLE effects on the whole chain of thyroid function – how’s your stress hormones? Because if they’re shooting off like rockets, no thyroid drug in the world is going to fix that.

I bet I’ve confused you more – Good. Get unconfused! Here’s some great resources to read before you let anyone determine a course of action for you. Dr. Brownstein is a renowned authority on thyroid, he has a great blog and books. Dr. Izabelle is an expert – and she deals with it herself. And then there’s the famous site: Stop The Thyroid Madness.

Next, I had a chance to review 2 blood work panels this week. Interestingly, each of these people had very similar results: slightly high total cholesterol, great/high HDL, “high” LDL, low triglycerides, and low VLDL. Each was slightly worried about the TC/total cholesterol number. I wouldn’t worry about either, and here’s why: We now know CONCLUSIVELY that TC is a pretty useless, meaningless number when it comes to heart disease. Even high LDL isn’t a sure thing, there’s 5 kinds of LDL and some are necessary and good. Our body makes cholesterol in EVERY SINGLE CELL because it’s vitally important to life, health, and well-being. We’d die without cholesterol, and low cholesterol is NOT linked to health and vitality, but to illness, shortened lifespan, and mental disorders. Honestly. Read This for an Expert Researchers/Scientist explanation of why we need cholesterol.

If you’re worried about risk factors for heart disease, look at your Triglycerides, your VLDL, your HDL to TC ratio, and your Triglyceride to HDL ratio. Look here for the facts and equations. Read Cholesterol Clarity if you want to hear what 28 serious experts make of the latest cholesterol and heart disease information.

What I love seeing? That 2 different doctors ran the VLDL numbers. Very Low Density Lipoproteins are indicators of heart disease risk. VLDL is small and dense, the “bad kind of cholesterol”. It’s prone to oxidation and causes much artery damage. Here’s the “good” thing: our body only makes VLDL when we eat too many CARBS-SUGAR-GLUCOSE and has to convert the excess to TRIGLYCERIDES. VLDL is made by the liver to carry these triglycerides through the blood to their designated destination ( usually, your abdominal area). Want lower VLDL?? Eat less crappy carbs and watch your blood sugars. It’s simple.

Thyroid and Cholesterol, two seemingly different subjects, but one single point: quit trusting your Doctor to automatically determine the best course of action for you. Read, learn, educate yourself about YOUR BODY. We shouldn’t let the pharmaceutical industry (which is where doctors get their continuing ed from) be our guiding light – they’re a BUSINESS who NEED TO SELL US DRUGS TO SUCCEED.

Drugs have serious consequences and side-effects. Put some effort into figuring this stuff out before you travel down the path of taking pharmaceuticals, and then adding more pharmaceuticals to counter the side-effects of those pharmaceuticals.

Next: I got asked what I’m eating for the Super Bowl. Hmm. That would just be my dinner around 6pm or so, and it’ll consist of meat and a pile of vegetables, maybe cheese. I’m not dreaming of a binge, or planning one, or subjecting myself to feeling stuffed, bad, and then hungover. Why would I do that to myself?

Last, I have to leave you with a few more facts, these are inspired from I don’t remember who in the Future of Nutrition conference: Inflammation, and the conditions for Disease (heart disease, cancer, diabetes, thyroid…) are developing YEARS, even DECADES, before the manifestation of symptoms. Actually, studies show that we build and nurture our diseases for an average of 20 years before they actually disrupt our lives. Even pancreatic cancer and Parkinson’s, which seem to “suddenly-onset” and progress rapidly – studies show they’ve been brewing for an average of 20 years before the symptoms. Take control of your life, your health, your eating, and your thoughts. You really, really do have power over these things.

Make the connection between your foods, your eating habits, how you handle stress, how much you sleep, and how much you move, to YOU. Your energy, your health, your general mood, your creativity, your vitality: You. What you do – every day, consistently, mostly, habitually – really, really matters. Become a Real Whole Foodie:)

October 31, 2013 /
Debbie / Comments Off on Think Your Way To Health and Weight Success; and Cholesterol Facts

I’ve had an unusual number of cholesterol questions in the past week, and I just gave a talk on cholesterol yesterday, so it’s “on the brain”. There’s just so much MISinformation out there about cholesterol, most of it perpetuated by pharmaceutical companies ( statins bring in 29 BILLION a YEAR), and many doctors, who’ve been taught to believe that total cholesterol is very important, and that all LDL is bad.

In the words of Wheatbelly doctor, William Davis, that would be fine if it were 1963. But it’s 2013, and science has shown us that total cholesterol is a HORRIBLE predictor of heart disease. In 2013, MUCH better predictors of your heart health are (1) your triglyceride/HDL ratio (should be less than 3.5 for men, and less than 2.5 for women), (2) your blood sugar level/insulin level (excess glucose and excess insulin damage arteries and organs like the heart), (3) your A1C, which shows an average of your past 90 days of blood sugar, and is indicative of heart disease, diabetes, and possible neurological problems (think Alzheimers and Dementia). There’s other risk factors, like the amount of chemicals you ingest, slather on, or breath in, and the amount of trans fat you eat, but those are hard to measure.

Why shouldn’t you worry about cholesterol? Because you’d DIE without it – it’s that necessary. The body uses cholesterol to make all our adrenal hormones and sex hormones, Vitamin D, bile salts, myelin sheaths, cell membranes, and includes it in “healing patches” when damage occurs. As a matter of fact, if you takes steps to lower it with statins, you’re putting yourself at risk for diabetes (statins cause blood sugar levels to rise and muscle cells to become insulin resistant), muscle pains, impotence, dementia, cataracts, kidney and liver problems, cancer, and weight gain (thanks to the insulin resistance and blood sugar rise).

Instead of falling for the party line, if your total cholesterol or LDL has come back high, think of WHY that might be. Did you just have an illness, or a stressful event? Because if you did, your liver made MORE cholesterol so your body could ramp up it’s immune system ( cholesterol is an ANTIOXIDANT and HEALING MOLECULE); stress would have induced the adrenals to produce more cortisol and other “fight or flight” hormones, which are made from cholesterol. Or maybe your body is trying to heal you with Vitamin D ( made from cholesterol). There’s a lot of reasons your body makes cholesterol. It’s NORMAL. Damaged cholesterol is what’s dangerous.

Here’s something most people don’t know: LDL and HDL do NOT equal Cholesterol. Cholesterol is a fatty substance, and lipoproteins are lipoproteins; lipoproteins CARRY cholesterol inside of them. Low density Lipoproteins (LDLs) also carry triglycerides, steroids, fat soluble vitamins, and anything else that’s fat soluble, through the blood, to wherever they need to go.

All LDL is NOT bad. If we need more cholesterol to make more hormones, more vitamin D, more myelin shealths in the brain so our brains cells can communicate, LDL is going to get it there. However, OXIDIZED, DAMAGED LDL is bad. How does it get damaged? Glucose/blood sugar, toxins(cigarettes, chemicals in foods,..), and trans fats.

Please, learn about cholesterol. Learn how to make your Heart Healthy – for real. There’s so much information and if you learn it, you’ll be able to go to your doctor and comfortably assert that no, you’re not going to get on a statin just because your total cholesterol is 201, or 220. Read Cholesterol Clarity, Grain Brain, or Cholesterol Myths. Get on sites by forward thinking doctors and scientists who are practicing according to 2013 facts. (here’s one) . Listen to podcasts, like this one by Dr. Cate Shanahan on The Truth about Statins and Cholesterol. Become your own best health advocate. You can do this!

And that leads me to my title today, think your way to health and weight success. I’ve heard too many times now, “oh, I just can’t give up bread” ” I could never give up pasta” I HAVE to have desserts/sweets every day” ” I could NEVER give up my wine”, etc etc etc. Oh my gosh. If your kids tell you “I can’t learn to read”, “I can’t get my times tables”, “I’ll never understand Algebra 1/Geometry/Algebra 2”, “this class is too hard, I’ll never get higher than a D” waa waa waa. You’d never accept that, because you know it’s not true. Why don’t you apply that same logic to yourself? Lot’s of people don’t eat bread or pasta or dessert or drink wine. Lots of people shop, plan, pack, and cook. Normal, regular , busy people.

Henry Ford has one of my favorite quotes ever: “Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right”. He said that decades ago, but wow, was he ahead of his time. Neuroscience has advanced to a degree where technology has made it possible to actually SEE how our thoughts change our brain, instantly. Our thoughts affect our neurotransmitters (serotonin, gaba, dopamine..), and we CAN control our thoughts if we practice. A lot.

Instead of “preparing” to blow it because “it’s the weekend”, or “you’re traveling”, or “you’ve had a hard week”, or “there’s no time to cook”, figure out the action steps and then plan tosucceed. No time to cook? Go to the store and buy already prepared meats and vegetables, then cook up at home. Become a whiz with your crockpot; make giant batches and freeze. Traveling? Bring food in coolers, or baggies (nuts, fruits, seeds, they all travel well). Weekend binges ? They can take 3 or 4 days to atone for – trust me, I did that for years. It’s miserable. Learn to de-stress after a hard week with a hike, yoga, movies, books, naps, things that actually make you feel better when they’re over instead of worse.

Here’s another favorite quote, from the Paleo Mom, “it’s only effort until it becomes habit”. You can change your patterns and make new patterns. Other people do, you can too, I promise.

Back to cholesterol levels and heart disease! Here’s a ONE minute video by Dr. Malcolm Kendrink who in ONE minute, debunks the whole “cholesterol/heart disease” paradigm. Please watch this – it’s very eye opening.

There’s a lot of confusion and mis-information about Cholesterol, so let’s clear a few things up here: The fat and cholesterol you eat does NOT go straight to your arteries and clog them. That’s not how the body works AT ALL. That’s a fear tactic pharmaceutical companies use to get you on their statins. Cholesterol is a HEALING molecule, a major building block, and an antioxidant; it’s so VITAL to our body that God made EVERY SINGLE CELL IN OUR BODY produce it. When you see a reading of your Total Cholesterol, your LIVER made most of that. Very, very little of the cholesterol in our BLOOD comes from the food we eat.

Our brain needs TONS of cholesterol to function; our sex hormones are made from cholesterol, Vitamin D is made from cholesterol, bile is made from cholesterol; every time the body has an injury (say, a damaged artery from Insulin or toxic chemicals), the liver sends cholesterol to the site to Heal and Seal the damage. Even mental stress signals the body to produce more cholesterol.

Lipo-proteins are proteins that carry fat and cholesterol inside of them. Low-Density Lipoproteins carry fats and cholesterol from the liver to other places in the body, and High Density Lipoproteins carry the waste products back to the liver. Cholesterol does NOT equal lipo-proteins. Measuring Lipoproteins is a way (some say an inaccurate way) of measuring the amount of cholesterol in your body. Lipo-proteins are NOT ALL THE SAME. Seven have been identified so far; some are big, fluffy, and un-damaging, some are small, dense, and damaging. Particle density tests can show the differences, but you’ll have to ask. Otherwise, your doctor will prescribe the cholesterol test created in the 1970s to make a proclamation about your health. Sound smart?

Cholesterol Clarity is a great, great book with the latest research from 28 Cardiologists and Lipid (fat) Researchers. It’s an EASY read and honestly MIND BLOWING. Wheat Belly by Dr. William Davis and Grain Brain by Dr. David Peremutter are also Must Reads. If you care about your health, you must take your health into your Own Hands. Learn how your body works. No one cares about you, or your loved ones, as much as you do.

Let me end with a couple of recipes. The first is some granola I had this weekend at an Energy workshop ( it was all about Quantum Physics and Cool Stuff), and it’s called Paleo Granola. My friend Ginny made it and it might have been the most popular food there. OMGosh. Here’s the link:http://www.paleocupboard.com/granola.html. The next recipe we made here Friday night when a couple of my college girls were home. It’s called Keto Lemon Coconut Balls -AHHH! these were delicious! We used Creme Fraiche instead of cream cheese, and real lemon juice, and more coconut than it called for. (I can never stick to a recipe) Can’t wait to make these again! http://ketogenicwoman.com/keto-lemon-coconut-balls/.

Eating well and being healthy doesn’t mean boiled chicken and steamed broccoli. That’s called “dieting”, and dieting never works. Instead, eat healthy fats and proteins, tons of vegetables, some fruits, some nuts and seeds, and some whole fat dairy (if your stomach says yes). Eating well is delicious, and satisfying, and satiating. Inflammation decreases, healing begins, and your brain will quit screaming at you to keep eating. Eat Real Whole Foods.